The Cost of Glory with Alex Petkas: Timeless Lessons from Ancient Greece and Rome 🏛️🏺📜 🏹⚔️🦅⚖️

One of my very favorite annual traditions is conducting this interview with my friend David Kim, aka Scuttleblurb (🕵📝).His investment research journal/company deep dives/business explorations were a key inspiration for this 🚢 steamboat. While the format is different, I hope there are similarities in the spirit. And I know that he has influenced and inspired many others — especially the good ones!In our conversation this year — the fifth one! — we explore the State of Scuttleblurb 📊, his analyses of key industries and companies from the past year 🏭, and our perspective on the market looking back at 2024 and heading into 2025 🔮. We also discuss the evolution of his research process and the new tools he's adopted 🛠️.I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed having the conversation!Photo: David and his brother Rich.If you missed them, here are the previous four annual interviews I did with David:* 📄 Interview with David Kim a.k.a. Scuttleblurb (2020)* 📄 Interview with David Kim a.k.a. Scuttleblurb (2022)* 🎧 Interview with David Kim a.k.a. Scuttleblurb (2023)* 📄 Interview with David Kim a.k.a. Scuttleblurb (2024) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.libertyrpf.com/subscribe

Mark Nelson is back for Part 2!(If you missed it, here’s part 1)Another wide-ranging conversation: We discuss the implications of the new U.S. administration on energy policy, particularly focusing on Chris Wright, the incoming Secretary of Energy.We explore Wright’s background in the oil and gas industry, his connections to the nuclear sector through his board position at Oklo, and what his appointment might mean for both conventional and advanced nuclear power in America.We also get into the dynamics between different energy sources, including the relationship between nuclear power and electric vehicles, the future of LNG exports, and the complex economics of oil and gas production.Don’t miss the under-discussed love story (💞) between nuclear and batteries. ☢️🔋We also touch on recent regulatory challenges facing Big Tech companies’ nuclear power initiatives and how the energy landscape might evolve in the coming years.We close with why it’s time to build (again). 🏗️ ⚛️ 🚧👷‍♂️🛠️ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.libertyrpf.com/subscribe

🚨 Note: The first part of the podcast is spoiler-free. The spoilers only start after a warning 🚨What happens when six film enthusiasts dissect Christopher Nolan's most ambitious and polarizing puzzle box? 🧩We dive deep into TENET — exploring and deconstructing the film's twisted timeline, inverted action sequences, and reality-bending concepts. 🕰️ 🧠🌀What worked? What didn’t? Do we love it, hate it, or love/hate it?Our distinguished panel of inverted time-travelers assembled to discuss this crazy film is composed of:* 🗣️ Jim O’Shaughnessy* 🗣️ Jack Connor* 🗣️ Tinkered Thinking* 🗣️ Ed William* 🗣️ Dylan O’SullivanAlong the way, we venture into Nolan's other films and rank our faovrites, and somehow end up in Deadwood territory 🤠 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.libertyrpf.com/subscribe

Mark Nelson is back! (our first conversation is here)We discussed how AI's massive power needs are reshaping energy policy in unexpected ways.For years, Big Tech claimed to run on '100% renewable energy' while quietly relying on nuclear and fossil fuels. But now, as companies race to build massive AI computing centers requiring gigawatts of reliable 24/7 power, that pretense is crumbling. Starting with Microsoft's Three Mile Island deal for the revival of a shutdown nuclear plant, we explore how Silicon Valley's desperate hunt for steady power is forcing an energy policy reset across the industry and how that may impact anti-nuclear NGOs and policymakers everywhere.We dive into Germany's nuclear situation, Taiwan's power challenges, and how the world's richest companies went from being part of the problem to potentially part of the solution. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.libertyrpf.com/subscribe

I’m excited to share with you one of my favorite podcasts that I’ve recorded! 🎧🥇I hope you enjoy it and will ➡️ subscribe to ‘Cost of Glory’ ⬅️ (listen on: Spotify or Apple Podcast) and follow Alex’s explorations of the greatest stories from Roman and Greek antiquity.It’s like a time machine for the mind, and might inspire you to read some of the great books we recommend near the end of the podcast!In this episode, Alex and I discuss why the Romans and Greeks of Antiquity were 𝕤𝕠 𝕒𝕨𝕖𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖 and his journey following in Plutarch’s footsteps — telling stories of real heroes and learning from their lives. Except Alex does it with a podcast instead of with a reed pen (I had to look up what they used to write in antiquity…)There’s a lot to love about this one. One of my favorite parts is when we do a lightning-round through a bunch of big names from the era, and Alex gives a highlight on each. We discuss people like Alexander the Great, Sulla, Hannibal, Scipio, Julius Caesar, Pompey, Cato the Elder and Cato the Younger, Xenophon, etc.It gave me a lot of context about names I recognized but didn’t know much about — I feel better equipped to dig deeper! I hope it’ll do the same for you.Enjoy! 💚 🥃👇 Other Great Links For You* Cost of Glory Substack 📩📫* Cost of Glory Free eBook on Oratory 📙🗣️* Alex’s Guide on How to Read All of Plutarch's Lives 📖📚* Alex’s Interview w/ Nat Friedman on the Mysteries of the Scrolls 📜🤖* Follow Alex on Twitter/X 🐦 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.libertyrpf.com/subscribe

On his eighth appearance on the podcast, MBI (🇧🇩🇺🇸) joins me to discuss one of humanity’s most impressive achievements: The semiconductor industry.Of course, we can’t talk about everything, and this isn’t meant to be a structured primer (for that, see below). It’s just a mostly unstructured conversation among friends, discussing whatever we find interesting in the space.We focus mostly on TSMC and Texas Instruments because that’s the two companies that MBI has researched more deeply, but we touch on ideas and concepts that apply more broadly.The goal is mostly to make you curious about this magic sand and encourage you to go down that rabbit hole too (we have book recommendations at the end if you don’t know where to start).We also brainstormed an interesting proposal to create a US alternative to TSMC (USSMC?). 📄🕵️‍♂️ MBI’s Semiconductor Deep Dives 🩻🔍* Semiconductors: "To see a World in a Grain of Sand" (sub required 🔐)* Texas Instruments: Leading the Analog Chips Industry (sub required 🔐)* TSMC: The Most Mission-Critical Company on Earth (sub required 🔐) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.libertyrpf.com/subscribe

Here’s something a little different. A fun — but dark! — one.I’m a big fan of Denis Villeneuve, and I was due for a re-watch of ‘Sicario’ (2015, written by Taylor Sheridan).It was the perfect opportunity to nerd out about the film, so I recruited my OSV colleagues Ed William (🇬🇧) and Dylan O’Sullivan (🇮🇪) for that task. (You should follow them on Twitter, and while you’re at it, sign up for the OSV Substack so you don’t miss the cool stuff we’ve got coming.)The things you love are always better when you can share them with others and this is exactly what we do here. We go over every aspect of the film, from the writing, the acting, the cinematography, the music, the metaphors, and scene-by-scene analysis.But mostly, we have fun and I hope that you do too!If you’ve never seen the film, watch it before listening, as the podcast is one giant 🚨SPOILER🚨 — and if you’ve seen it but haven’t rewatched it, I hope we can convince you to do so and that you’ll notice a bunch of new cool details this time around.🎧 Listen on SpotifyIf you prefer to listen on Spotify, here’s the feed:* Liberty’s Highlights podcast feed on Spotify🎧 Listen on Apple PodcastsHere’s the podcast feed on Apple Podcasts:* Liberty’s Highlights podcast on Apple📺 More Film & TV Podcasts 🎥* 🎧 The Last of Us: Going Deep on HBO's Amazing Show with Matt Reustle and Tinkered Thinking 🍄* 🎧 'Severance' Season 1: Going Deep with Mostly Borrowed Ideas (MBI)* 🎧 David Senra on Deadwood (also: founders, entrepreneurs, civilization, Henry Singleton, Walt Disney, David Ogilvy, etc)💚 🥃 Enjoyed this? Want more? 👇You can become a paid supporter to get 1-2x additional editions/week + access to the private Discord + support the recording of more podcasts. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.libertyrpf.com/subscribe

Today, I’m joined by my friend Trung Phan! He’s multi-talented, funny and smart, a great writer, podcaster, and just overall good dude 👍In this conversation, we cover a lot of things from the Trung Expanded Universe, from the network effect at companies like Twitter/X and Facebook to Chernobyl and partying in Vietnam, we talk about creating online and how he got so good at solving the Twitter puzzle, what we learned from Rick Rubin and our mutual love of Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Christopher Nolan, writing a newsletter, doing a podcast, how AI is changing things and why he’s building Bearly.AI, and how ambitions of becoming a screenwriter morphed into something else thanks to the permissionless internet.I had a lot of fun recording this, and I hope it translates when you listen! 💚 🥃Here’s the podcast with Bill Simmons that Trung recommends about 45 minutes into our conversation:* 🎧 How I Built This with Guy Raz — The Ringer: Bill Simmons🎙️ More from Trung 📩Make sure you subscribe to Trung’s newsletter (📩). It’s a mix of long-form features about various companies, products, technologies, entrepreneurs, and funny short-form memes and jokes.The same issue could cover both the science and engineering that went into making iPhone glass more shatter and scratch-resistant using space-age tech AND a meme about wealthy vampires because of compound interest.If you need even more Trung, please make sure to subscribe to ‘Not Investment Advice’, the hilarious and educational podcast that he co-hosts with Jack Butcher and Bilal Zaidi. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.libertyrpf.com/subscribe

On his sixth appearance on the pod, MBI joins me to discuss the most polarizing of the Big Tech companies: Meta Platforms (the artist formerly known as Facebook).Of course, it’s impossible to talk about it without talking about Mark Zuckerberg, so we try to better understand how he thinks about the company that he founded when he was 19, and how he compares to other founders.There was a lot to cover, and I think we touched on most of the big things: Facebook, Messenger, Whatsapp, Instagram, Reality Labs (AR/VR), AI, Threads, regulators, competitors, high-variance founders, and even cage matches (😬)…It was a fun conversation for me, I hope you have as much fun listening to it (and learn a few things about Meta too)! 💚 🥃For more on Meta, check out MBI’s excellent coverage at MBI Deep Dives. He has 10 posts on the company, but I’m going to highlight 5 of them:📄 MBI Deep Dives — META Coverage 🔐* Meta's Moat* Meta's Achilles Heel(s)* Meta 2Q'23 Earnings Update* Meta Needs A Decade Of Efficiency* What’s embedded in Meta’s stock price? (2022)🗄 More podcasts with MBI 🕵️‍♂️* 🎧 Microsoft: Going Deep with Mostly Borrowed Ideas (MBI) 🕵️‍♂️🩻* 🎧 Big Tech Compensation: Going Deep with MBI* 🎧 Going Deep on Cloudflare and Datadog with Mostly Borrowed Ideas (MBI)* 🎧 Going deep on Payments with Mostly Borrowed Ideas (MBI): Adyen, PayPal, Stripe, Square, Amazon, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa, Mastercard!* 🎧 'Severance' Season 1: Going Deep with Mostly Borrowed Ideas (MBI)* 🎧 Going deep on Constellation Software with Mostly Borrowed Ideas (MBI) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.libertyrpf.com/subscribe

I’m excited to share with you another fun conversation with my good friend MBI (💎🐕). This marks his sixth appearance on the podcast, putting him in the lead ahead of David Senra with four (not that anyone’s counting!).Our starting point is his Deep Dive on Microsoft, which I strongly recommend:* 📄 Microsoft: The Quintessential Technology Company (sub. required)It’s an excellent primer and even if you’ve been following Microsoft for a while, I bet you’ll learn a few things!In the podcast, we dive deep into Microsoft and draw parallels with other Big Tech companies and their founders. Particularly between Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, but we also discuss Google, Meta, Amazon, and Apple.We also talk about the company’s history of spectacular profitable growth, the Gates era, the Ballmer era, and the ongoing Nadella era. We also look at how Microsoft is positioned in the cloud market against Amazon's AWS and Google’s GCP. ☁️☁️☁️ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.libertyrpf.com/subscribe